In general, a drum type washing machine is designed to place laundry in the washing machine through a door at the front of the washing machine, and to wash the laundry using a relatively small amount of water and detergent.
The drum type washing machine includes a cabinet that forms the exterior of the washing machine, a tub in the cabinet configured to hold water, a rotatable drum in the tub to accommodate laundry, a motor in, behind or under the tub for rotating the drum, a water supply device for supplying water to the tub, and a drain for discharging the water from the tub to the outside of the cabinet after the washing operation is terminated.
The drum may be connected to a shaft of the motor via a spider. The spider is on a rear surface of the drum. The spider includes a shaft mount connected to the shaft and a plurality of arms that protrude from the shaft mount and are coupled to the rear surface of the drum. The drum is coupled to the spider at a plurality of points on its rear surface by screws or an adhesive. When the drum type washing machine washes laundry, the motor generates torque and the spider transfers the torque to the drum.
When the drum is contaminated with foreign substances or stains, the drum (e.g., inside or outside surfaces of the drum) may need to be cleaned. Since the drum is coupled to the spider at a plurality of points by screws or adhesive, it is relatively difficult to disassemble the drum from the spider. Also, after the drum is disassembled from the spider and cleaned, it may be difficult to reassemble the drum to the spider.
In addition, since the spider is coupled or attached to the rear surface of the drum, the torque generated by the motor may not be effectively transferred to the drum.
A conventional drum type washing machine may be disclosed in United States Patent Application Publication No. US 2006/0254321 A1.